Fine 4444orm!

Yesterday, the Sabres slaughtered the Thrashers of Atlanta 10-1!! Click here for the wrap up of the game and a photo of a smiling #9, Derek Roy. He had three goals last night just like Drew Stafford. Roy was #5 in team scoring last season and is up to #2 this year, trailing only Jason Pominville, who was a notch ahead of him last year too at #4.

Unfortunately tonight, the Sabres came back down to earth - losing 4-2 in Toronto - but I don't really want to advertise that fact.

Yours truly is now advertising his business as a walking (skating?) billboard...Sometimes we just need to think outside the (penalty) box...

I had my company name put on two hockey jerseys and even put #9 on one. It is not for the Sabres' Derek Roy but the St. Louis Blues' Paul Kariya, as it is a Blues jersey I have owned for several years. It is Paul's first year on the Blues and he is leading the way by example!

One year ago today, the Vancouver Canucks lost to the Sabres. Our opener on MSG-TV could be considered a bit of a blooper as we promoted all-star Roberto Luongo - but he got a rare night off. Danny Sabourin played well for Luongo that night - and TONIGHT again. Sabourin shutout Montreal 2-0 as he was between the pipes for Pittsburgh. So look for Sabourin to be playing again on January 19, 2009...Some things are just meant to be...

This includes the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. February 12 - 28 are the dates. The Canadian Olympic Hockey team should be led by Roberto Luongo in net and I'm crossing my fingers for Vancouver-born Paul Kariya to get a shot too...

4444ork in the ROAD

My Sabres opener went like this tonight on MSG-TV at MSG in the Big Apple: It’s been a while. In fact...the Sabres haven’t won a game since Santa made his rounds in December. But Buffalo isn’t the only team starving for a win.
The Rangers have hit bottom in the Atlantic...losing six of their last seven.
It’s Buffalo’s first glimpse of the Garden...and their former captain this season. Rangers...Sabres...NEXT on MSG!

Well, I am sorry to say the Sabres came out on the short end of the stick again: 2-1 win for the Rangers. New York jumped from 10th place to eighth in the East with the win, five points in front of Buffalo.
Don't worry...we'll catch up soon enough:)

Even more surprising lately at MSG (Madison Square Garden) is the play of the New York Knicks. The laughing stock of the NBA beat Detroit Sunday, 89-65, and Washington yesterday, 105-93. Tonight the Knicks won on the road in New Jersey, 111-105. Still, the Knicks record for the season is only 12-26.

Last night I enjoyed watching an old-timer light it up against Canada's Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns. 38-year-old Sam Cassell scored 32 points against Phoenix as the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Suns 97-90. The Clippers' history started in Buffalo in 1970. Back to Nash. He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, but grew up near here in Victoria B.C. In this week's Sports Illustrated Players NBA Poll, the question was:

Which player on an opposing team would you most like to play with?

Congrats to Nash! He came out on top at 31 percent. Jason Kidd of the New Jersey Nets finished second at 17 percent. Then it was Kevin Garnett of the Celtics and LeBron James of the Cavaliers tied at 9 percent. Ralph Hass does not appear on that list for some reason...??

Oh yeah, because I focus on football as a quarterback in Seattle...

False advertising?

Yes, you do need to look at all the fine print...

And please, don't hassle me about the Sabres...

I will support my team through thick and thin, snow or rain, '07 or '08...

I'm not one of those "bandwagon jumpers"...or bungee jumpers...

4444tune teller

I thought I was done with the four theme I had on 4 straight posts last month starting with Un4444gettable and ending with 4444 Sure! But here we are on the 14th and the Sabres have 44 points after 43 games. It is time for our 4444tunes to turn around! Enough of this "Close, but no cigar" stuff. We have lost three straight games in shootouts! We play the Rangers on Wednesday and I want to see the Sabres smoke them! Our highest paid player, Thomas Vanek, turns 24 on Saturday. Don't wait until the Toronto game that night to light it up Tommy!

My Mom celebrates a birthday on January 17th, while today a voiceover colleague and excellent hockey blogger celebrates his. Gary Kriebel runs Old Dominion Productions and is known as Gustafsson at the On Frozen Blog site. It is focused on the Washington Capitals. A recent post there took a shot at the media in Toronto. All Sabres fans are okay with that! Only the Tampa Bay Lightning and the LA Kings have fewer points than the Leafs right now. A recent call-up by the Leafs is 21-year-old goalie, Justin Pogge. His hockey roots are in this area. Pogge led Team Canada to a 5-0 win over Team Russia to win the gold medal at the world junior hockey championship two years ago and was MVP of the tournament.

The local rock station in Kelowna has a pretty awesome "Rocky Hockey Weekend" promotion going on and just for fun I sent the program director a couple of liners they could mix and use if they so choose:) Enjoy!

Thank you Juniors!...and seniors

This past Saturday, Canada beat Sweden 3-2 in the gold medal game of the world junior hockey championship. That makes four straight gold medals!

Eight members of Team Canada were from the Western Hockey League - including the Kelowna Rockets' Luke Schenn. Much like Roberto Luongo gets serenaded by chants of "LLLLOOOOUUUU" for the Vancouver Canucks, Luke will hear the loud and proud "LLLLUUUKKKKe" cheers from Kelowna fans tonight when the Chilliwack Bruins are in town. The Western Hockey League and the Rockets have sent a lot of talent on to the NHL! Read the details here.

I am proud to be doing TV voiceovers for WHL games on Shaw-TV this season. You can see some of the recent footage here.

Last night, the Detroit Red Wings' Chris Chelios became the second-oldest player in NHL history at 45 years and 348 days when the Wings hosted the Colorado Avalanche. 1,587 games in 23 ½ NHL seasons for Chelios!
But, Wings legend Gordie Howe holds the distinction of being the oldest player in league history, having played his final game on April 6, 1980. Howe was 52 years and six days at the time. "Mr. Hockey" is currently part of the ownership group of the Vancouver Giants.

THE New Year's Bash & Bosh!

Wow! The Buffalo Sabres rang in the New Year hosting the the AMP NHL Winter Classic, the League’s first regular-season outdoor game in the United States. The game lived up to all the hype as Sidney Crosby beat Ryan Miller to get the Pittsburgh Penguins the overtime win. But, Ryan Miller got the upper hand in this hilarious commercial for the sponsor of the NHL Winter Classic.

Creative on the basketball court - and in soliciting your vote for the upcoming NBA All-Star Game, here is the Toronto Raptors' Chris Bosh showing off some great comedy moves!

To-BLOG-ganing at Christmas

Here I am a few years ago on the set as a mannequin for "Living Nativity" - our church's popular annual gift to the community.

I used to be in radio - but NOT that long ago...

Following up on my previous post, here is the before and after footage of Buffalo's own Patrick Kane leaving a memorable mark in his hometown.

Sabre Claws - We have won 6 straight and go for 7 in a row on Boxing Day versus our best rivals: Ottawa. Santa Claus does not want to miss this one! When we played Ottawa last month for the first time this season, my opening on MSG-TV had a dramatic movie trailer feel.

• My voiceover friends recently collaborated on 'Twas The Night Before Christmas. Have a listen here. It all started here. It ended with Kara Edwards' voice and she lists all the wonderful performers here.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

I know that is what is in store for me. I feel every Christmas gets better because you have more memories to cherish.

4444 Sure!

My Sabres opener started off like this last night on MSG-TV:
THE SABRES MADE THEIR POINT WEDNESDAY...
SCORING SEVERAL FROM THE POINT...TO NET TWO POINTS IN THE STANDINGS.
NOW...CAN THEY GET TWO IN A ROW?
(For sure! We won Friday night 5-3 against Washington - one of just 4 games on a Friday night).

Tonight will be extra special in Buffalo as homegrown talent Patrick Kane comes to visit with the Chicago Blackhawks. He grew up
about 6 miles from the Sabres' HSBC Arena and is now producing at a point-a-game pace after being selected Number 1 in the NHL draft in June.

Can you say Rookie Of The Year? For sure!

Here is the list of rookie winners over the years. Chicago hasn't had a Rookie Of The Year since goalie Ed Bel4444 in 1990/91. It has been even longer for the Sabres: goalie Tom Barrasso won in '83/84 - a year after Chicago's Steve Larmer and a year before the legendary Mario Lemieux. This week Barrasso was promoted to goalie coach of the Carolina Hurricanes. They lost 4-3 to Calgary last night - their third straight loss...so sorry HurriCANES - NOT:)

Good luck tonight Patrick KANE!

Hey, with Christmas coming don't forget to share a candy cane...

4444ever?

My Sabres opener last night on MSG-TV went like this:
It seems like forever ago...and the Sabres would like to forget it even happened. The Islanders return to Buffalo for the first time since the season opener. (They won that one 6- 4; we won last night 5-3!)

Two recent corporate videos I voiced are here:

• Forever Post & Board - I kick into gear 43 seconds in :)


• Quic-Key Painter family of products

Don't be fooled by the above! I am not a home handyman...

Plenty of great advice for homeowners at this site though: Hometips. Guy Kawasaki's blog had a cool story on the company and their success with Google Adsense. Guy's post ended with these words of advice that can be applied to those of us in voiceover: Do what you love, focus on a niche, find a viable business model, and work for yourself.

Yesterday's post from Guy has a marketing lesson to share as well:

Create something great, sow fields (not window boxes), “let a hundred flowers blossom,” and pray that “regular folks” will spread the word.

4444get about it!

The Sabres lost 4-1 last night to the Ducks and the two guys I slammed in my last blog post were the first (Todd Bertuzzi) and third (Chris Pronger) stars of the game. Ooops...

The first shutout in Sabres history happened on this very date in 1970. Thank you Roger Crozier! It was a 1-0 win against the Minnesota North Stars. One of his partners in the net that year was Dave Dryden. His brother, Ken Dryden, was a future Hall of Fame goalie with the Montreal Canadiens. I have a nephew named Dryden turning three this month. His Dad played a lot of goal "back in the day" so that's how he got his name.

My youngest son is Jordan Michael - and yes, he loves basketball right now. Had a grade seven b-ball practice this morning at 7 am. I'll be on the hardwood in the men's league at 9:15 tonight.

My three stars of the day...ladies first:)

• Liz de Nesnera - sending a lovely Christmas greeting to all her voiceover colleagues. Liz has inspired us all this year!
• Tom Dheere - of Rognog Productions. Founder of the Good Karma Network. He graciously shares marketing tips and links and encourages us with his weekly newsletter, which goes on his blog too. Rognog eggnog? Sounds like a great idea Tom!
• Glen Dufresne - National Sales Coordinator, Shaw Advertising

Un4444gettable!

My Saturday Sabres opener on MSG-TV went like this:
THE SABRES HIT A SPEED BUMP WEDNESDAY NIGHT
AS ST LOUIS HIT A HIGH NOTE IN BUFFALO.
(They won 4-3 getting the winner with 58 seconds left)
WITH NOVEMBER NOW IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR...
BUFFALO LOOKS TO GET BACK ABOVE .500 BEFORE HEADING WEST.
TONIGHT...CAROLINA COMES CALLING.
CANES...SABRES...NEXT IN MSG!

Well, the script to Saturday's game couldn't have gone any better as Buffalo had a gre8888t night winning 8-1! It was a balanced attack (our strength) but it was disappointing to see Ryan Miller lose his shutout with 2 minutes remaining. The Sabres will hopefully conquer California this week. Thursday, they play LA and Saturday they find their way to San Jose. Tomorrow night Ryan faces his brother, Drew Miller, and the Anaheim Ducks. #44 is assistant captain Rob Niedermayer. A former #44 with the Vancouver Canucks is now #4 there: Todd Bertuzzi. Another former #44 on Anaheim is their captain, Chris Pronger. He now wears #25. Hockey fans in my neck of the woods like to boo both Bertuzzi and Pronger for acting like butchers on the ice!

The most famous #4 of all-time in the NHL is defenseman Bobby Orr. The Sabres have a recent addition on the blueline who wears #4 too. Nolan Pratt was the Hartford Whalers 4th pick (115th overall) in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. That same year the Whalers drafted Chris Pronger 2nd overall. The General Manager of Hartford then, Brian Burke, is now his boss again in Anaheim. The #1 overall pick in 1993 was Alexandre Daigle of Ottawa. Anaheim grabbed Paul Kariya 4th overall while Florida got Rob Niedermayer 5th overall. Quebec took current Sabre backup goalie, Jocelyn Thibault, 10th overall while the NY Islanders took Todd Bertuzzi in the first round at #23. Boo!

The Hartford Whalers were known for "going green" before it was environmentally friendly. Check out their uniforms here. Finally, two football teams that are lean, mean green machines this year - and both have quarterbacks wearing #4. The 10-2 Green Bay Packers and Brett Favre and the Grey Cup champions here in Canada: the Saskatchewan Roughriders with MVP Kerry Joseph. He actually played a few games on defense as a safety over 4 years for the Seattle Seahawks between
1998-2001. And yes, he was born on the 4th - in October 1973. I know July 4th would have been so cool but...it does get VERY cool in the winter in Saskatchewan. Here is the current forecast. Boo again...or bbbbbrrrrrr....